WACO, TEXAS — Mrs Baird’s Bakeries announced it will cease manufacturing operations at its Waco facility by mid-April. The facility, which was built in 1919 and acquired by Mrs Baird’s in 1960, currently produces about 200,000 units of bread and buns a week on one baking line. Production of those products is expected to shift to other Mrs Baird’s bakeries in Fort Worth, Abilene and San Antonio, Texas. The closing will affect approximately 90 employees.

Despite shutting down production, Mrs Baird’s said it will keep the 43,000-square-foot facility and continue local shipping and transport operations.

"Mrs Baird’s is still committed to serving the Waco market," said Dick Bay, vice-president of operations for the Texas region. "Our products will continue to be delivered daily to grocery stores in the market and will maintain the quality and freshness consumers have come to expect from Mrs Baird’s over the last century.

"This was a very difficult business-based decision. Our Waco facility is land-locked allowing us no room to expand. Without expanding, we are not able to modernize the facility for increased productivity. As our industry becomes increasingly competitive, we must be the most productive and efficient organization possible and unfortunately our Waco facility is not able to evolve to meet those needs."

Bimbo Bakeries is a division of Bimbo Bakeries USA, the Fort Worth, Texas-based subsidiary of Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo. Bimbo Bakeries USA operates 15 bakeries serving 2,900 sales routes.